by Sonya Weiss
“But what if she’s falling for you?” Jake asked.
“It doesn’t matter.” He wouldn’t let it matter.
Mason leaned back in his chair. “But what about the contract? Her job?”
“I’ll release her from the contract, but she can keep the job. I wouldn’t fire her simply because we go our separate ways.”
Jake laughed. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?”
Cole nodded, not seeing a damn thing funny.
“Good luck with that. I had all kinds of plans, too,” Jake said, looking at Mason for agreement.
Cole was saved from answering by a sharp knock on the door.
The client, Burrell Murphy, a crafty silver-haired man with a heavy Irish brogue, swept into the room after one of the security guards and in his booming voice began to lay out his expectations of doing business with him.
Hours later, toward the end of the meeting, Cole’s mind drifted back to Maddie. He wondered what she was doing and whether she was going to sleep in his bed or not. He snapped back to the present in time to hear Mason saying they’d all love to be there.
The “there” his friend had agreed to was a lavish party Burrell was hosting in his home the following evening. He rose when the other man did and shook his hand, then bid his friends good night and left, hurrying home to Maddie and hoping like hell she’d chosen his bed.
Chapter Fifteen
Maddie could easily have tossed her phone across the room. All morning long, starting at daybreak, she’d been getting texts. Though they were from her grandfather’s phone, she knew without a doubt her father was the one sending the messages. Only he could send messages that unkind. With a sigh of frustration, she put the phone facedown on the table by her bed, wanting a few seconds of peace before she dragged herself up to shower.
After some debating, she’d finally decided not to sleep in Cole’s room last night. He’d needed the rest and so had she, and if she’d stayed, no doubt they would have had another night like the one on the island. Which would have been bad, because in the middle of the night, she’d finally accepted that she’d fallen in love with Cole and that he didn’t feel the same way about her.
She didn’t know if it was because that emotion had always lurked below the surface, but the more time they spent together, the harder it was for her to keep her hands off of him. If only he wasn’t so damn good at making love, it would be a lot easier. She smiled at that and was still smiling as she toweled her hair dry when Cole appeared in the doorway.
“You look rested,” he said.
Maddie clutched the towel tightly in her hands. And you look too sexy this early in the morning. “I am.”
“I missed you in my bed last night.”
That admission surprised Maddie. “I figured you needed the rest, so I stayed here.”
“What I needed was you.” His gaze swept over the simple white dress she’d chosen to wear, and he shoved his hands into his pockets with a scowl. “I don’t know why I can’t get you out of my head. Or why when your scent lingers on my skin it’s the sweetest fragrance in the world.”
“Cole.” She took a step toward him.
He moved toward her but stopped before touching her. “This will end. You have to know that.”
“I do. There are no promises and no expectations. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have right now and enjoy every minute of it.”
Her words broke the last of Cole’s restraint, and he surged toward her, closing the gap between them to sweep her against him. He kissed her hungrily, like he’d been starved of her touch.
Maddie met his hunger with an equal one of her own. He tasted strong and masculine, filling her with an aching need that she didn’t think would ever be satiated completely. She wanted him to get as lost in her as she was in him. With impatient hands, she pulled his shirt free of his pants to touch the warmth of his body. His abdominal muscles contracted when she skimmed her fingers across him.
In response, he bent his head and grazed the side of her neck with his lips. She tangled her fingers in his hair and arched her body up, finding her reward when his hands closed around her breasts. She moaned, and he raised his head, his gaze drinking her in. He stroked his thumb across her swollen bottom lip.
Then he stepped back and stripped, and Maddie could hardly remember what day it was much less anything else. She shimmied out of the dress, letting it fall at her ankles. His gaze swept over here, and in his eyes, she felt like every inch of her body was perfect.
“I want you to know something.”
“What?” She jerked her attention away from his lips because he sounded so serious.
“If I had the ability to love a woman, it would be you.”
Maddie was surprised and a little saddened by his words. As if she needed a stake driven into the coffin of her feelings for him.
With swift moves, he hugged her body against his and removed her bra, then lowered his hands to her waist and lifted her up, carrying her like she was made of the most fragile glass, to lay her gently on the bed. His hands started at her shoulders and slowly touched every inch of her. When he reached her ankles, he pulled her to the end of the bed. In agonizing slowness, he inched her panties down first one of her legs, then the other.
He smiled a wickedly sexy self-assured male smile as he reached forward and slid a finger between her legs.
Maddie’s stomach clenched at the touch, and she gasped out his name right before he leaned down and kissed her, pressing his finger against her with a friction that was hard and determined. She squirmed, and he clamped his other hand at her hip, holding her in place while he watched her come apart against his strokes.
While she was still shuddering from release, he slid into her, wrapping his hands around her back, lifting her slightly up from the mattress. The position made her clamp down on him, and she threw her head back as he drove in. He buried himself in her and moments later, tensed, then sagged against her as his release spilled. As soon as he did, his eyes widened, and he let out a curse, his shoulders sagging.
When he left her abruptly to reach for his clothes, Maddie knew something was wrong. She leaned up on one elbow. “What’s wrong?”
He fastened his belt buckle and retrieved his shirt. “I have never lost my head to the point where I’ve failed to use a condom.”
Maddie pulled one of the pillows under her arm to rest on. “I told you, I’m careful with birth control.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand up the length of her leg. “That’s not the point. The point is that when I’m around you, I can’t always think straight.”
“What’s so wrong with that?” Maddie sat up. “Not being in control all the time is good for you. You need to cut loose.”
“I don’t do relationships. You know that.” He raked his hand through his hair. “And this is feeling more and more like one.”
She hugged her arms around her knees. “And that would be so bad?”
“Yes.”
Her phone buzzed, and Maddie motioned her hand toward it. “Pass that to me, please.”
Cole picked it up and frowned. “Your grandfather’s been texting you?”
Accusation dripped from his voice.
She shook her head. “It’s my father using my grandfather’s phone.” Leaning closer, she plucked the phone out of his hand. There was no need for Cole to read the ugly names that her father had called her after finding out about her living with Cole. Or the awful suggestions he’d written.
“We need to talk about this,” he said.
“Fine, but first, we need to talk about us.”
His expression became uncomfortable. “Meaning?” He gave her a long, unwavering look.
Maddie swallowed and let her gaze touch on the rumpled bed, on what they’d just shared. She could have sworn that each time they made love it meant something to him. “We had a connection today and every time that we’ve been together. You can lie and say that we didn’t, but I know
you feel it, too.”
“I do.”
Relief that she was right coursed through Maddie. That had to mean there was hope despite his anti-relationship feelings. “Then why can’t we leave things as they are?”
“Things?”
“This emotional connection.”
She might as well have said she was going to chop off the family jewels by the way he quickly put space between them. “Don’t say it, Maddie.”
“I love you, Cole. I am crazy, madly, head over heels in love with you.”
…
He bent to slip his shoes on so he wouldn’t have to see the disappointment sure to show on her face when he didn’t respond to that. What could he say? I can’t admit to loving you because I’ll disappoint you in the end. You’ll end up lonely and filled with regret because I can’t change the man I’ve become.
He straightened, feeling off-kilter at his admission to himself. He’d been lying to his friends and to himself for a while now. He loved Maddie. Loved her enough to let her go. “A client, Burrell Murphy, is throwing a party tonight. We need to be there.”
“Of course. I think I’ll go shopping for a dress.”
She had a smile on her face. Her voice was even, but he’d have to be blind and deaf not to see and hear the effect her admission of loving him had on her.
As she walked past him, he closed his fingers around her wrist. “Maddie—”
“Stop.” She leaned down and kissed him. A the end type kiss. Which was what was for the best. What was inevitable. His heart pounded and his mouth went dry.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “There were never any promises, and I don’t regret falling for you.”
“How can you not?”
“Because love, no matter the outcome, always enriches a person.”
Heaviness settled in his chest. “I can handle a lot of things, but I don’t think I could stand it if I hurt you.” He cradled her face in his hands. “I do care for you, Maddie, but it’s best for you that we’re not together.”
She searched his eyes, then said, “How about before any decisions are made, we sit down later tonight and talk about everything?”
He wasn’t sure that would make a difference, but he nodded and kissed her. After she left, he walked downstairs to his office, thinking he’d work until Maddie got back and they headed out to the party. Anything to keep his mind off all the ways he could screw everything up if he didn’t stick to his decision. Because wise or not at the moment, he was at the mental fork in the road of No and Take-a-Chance.
He opened his laptop and buried himself in work. The doorbell rang when he was in the middle of reading a project report. When he answered, it was Pierce waiting on the porch.
“I’ve got news you’re not going to like.”
Cole took in his friend’s grim expression and motioned Pierce in. “It’s about Samuel, isn’t it?” he guessed.
“Oh yeah. I did some checking. Everyone I spoke with said that Samuel is operating the Russell business empire as usual, no sign of any cognitive decline.”
Cole frowned, not liking the sound of that.
“You know what that means. Either Samuel is faking his diagnosis or Maddie’s feeding you a lie.”
Feeling like someone hit him in the chest with a baseball bat, Cole took a step backward. “She wouldn’t lie to me about that.”
“Sure she would. Pretending he had dementia made you pull back on searching for her grandfather, didn’t it? All along she’s been about protecting him.”
Impossible. Maddie loved him. She wouldn’t have said she did if she was hiding something like this. “I want proof,” Cole said, determined to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Then you’re in luck. The investigator said that both Samuel and Maddie’s father are at that Caribbean restaurant, the one near the Rice River mansion. I called the process server, and he’ll meet us there.”
The mention of the mansion made Cole think about the tour he’d taken with Maddie and the history associated with the place. Unlike those star-crossed lovers fated to be apart forever, he wanted it to work out between him and Maddie. He hadn’t realized that’s exactly what he did want until this moment when there was the slight chance she might have lied to him. It made him wonder if her saying she loved him could have been a lie as well.
“Let’s get to the restaurant before her grandfather leaves.”
On the drive over, Cole drummed his fingers on his knee until Pierce finally said, “She got to you, didn’t she?”
Cole started to deny it, then shrugged and stared through the window, not feeling like talking until they reached the restaurant. He waved off the smiling hostess and walked into the dining room, his gaze immediately zeroing in on Samuel Russell.
Though his hair was thinning and had turned white since the last time he’d seen him, he’d recognize that crafty bastard anywhere. Cole worked his way through the tables and pulled out a chair beside Samuel. Spinning it around backward, he straddled it and crossed his arms. Samuel stared right back at him with a blank look.
Cole turned his attention to Maddie’s father, Ned.
“If you’ve come to gloat about your attempt to ruin me, I’d wait,” the other man said with a sly grin. Ned calmly took a sip of his wine and set the glass down. “As of this afternoon, every asset you were after was transferred into my name. My father owns nothing of value anymore.”
“Am I—” Samuel began only to be shushed by Ned.
“I’m afraid you’ve lost this round.” Maddie’s father looked pleased.
Cole leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “I haven’t risen to the top without always looking at every angle.” He smiled when Maddie’s father frowned, and a shadow of fear crossed his face. He rose as the process server arrived and glanced at Samuel, who continued to stare wordlessly at him like they’d never met before. “Enjoy the rest of the meal.”
He and Pierce had just stepped outside when Maddie’s father caught up to them. “You won’t win.”
Cole recognized that it was the fear talking, and he continued walking toward the car.
“I’m not talking about legalities.” Ned grabbed his arm. “Maddie’s got you as fooled as her mother fooled me.”
Despite Pierce warning him to walk away, Cole stopped.
Maddie’s father shoved his hand in his pockets. “Her mother came to me years ago saying she was pregnant, but she lied. She got me to give her a great deal of money to take care of her and the supposed baby. Then she claimed she lost it, and I felt sorry for her.” He swallowed. “I grieved for weeks as she and I grew closer. What I thought was love was Maddie’s mother ensuring her own financial future.”
Pierce stepped closer. “We should go,” he warned, but wanting to hear what else Ned had to say, Cole ignored him.
“Maddie’s working the same angle with you. I realized you wouldn’t back off until you ruined this family, so my estranged wife suggested that Maddie become your mistress to buy us some time to protect ourselves financially.” He named the exact amount that Cole had given Maddie and then let out a bitter laugh. “I told her to ask for more.”
Cole felt as if his blood turned to ice. “You’re lying.”
Ned shook his head. “No. How do you think I know how much money Maddie got from you?”
His smile was cruel. “She did it for us because she’s so desperate to be accepted, she’d do anything for family.”
Though his head was spinning and he felt the barbs deeply, Cole didn’t allow any of it to show. Instead, he went on the offensive. “You failed to protect yourselves financially. Did I forget to mention I know about the money you’ve hidden in offshore accounts and I know how to get it?” he shot back.
Ned backed away. “You can ruin me and my father, but even if you do, you’ll still be just a pawn in Maddie’s game. You’ll be the one who loses.”
“I doubt that.” Cole gave him a cold smile. “I always win.”
Chapter S
ixteen
Something is wrong. When Maddie had arrived back at Cole’s house after finding a dress, he hadn’t been there. A note on the table in the foyer had instructed her that a car would bring her to the party. No other explanation than that. Maybe her saying they needed to talk tonight had spooked him. He’d said he did care for her, but he could have said it to appease her so it wouldn’t hurt.
Maddie bit her lip. It was just her luck to fall in love with a man who had all the give of a mountain. She could see past his hard exterior to the soft part of his heart, but she wasn’t sure that he could. What if he didn’t really care? That it was all about the sex for him? The memories of being with him flitted through her mind.
In all fairness, she wanted the sex. More than wanted it, she’d looked forward to it from the day she’d run into him again at the hotel. What she hadn’t expected was for that lonely space in her heart to open up, but it had. She sighed as the car stopped in front of Burrell Murphy’s place.
There was no sign of Cole as she stepped from the car and hesitated at the foot of the steps leading up to the massive double doors of the lakefront house. In light of her newly discovered feelings concerning him, she was anxious to see him but couldn’t shake the sense that something was going on with him.
Shaking off her trepidation, she entered the home. She’d no sooner walked into the living room when Cole approached. His smile was forced as he focused his attention on Maddie. “Darling, may I have a moment?”
Though his tone was pleasant enough, there was a coolness in his eyes that hadn’t been there earlier. Her worry grew. “Sure. Everything okay?”
Cole waited to answer until they moved away from the other guests. “I spoke to your father today.”
He never had anything pleasant to say about her. She could just imagine what he’d said to Cole. “And?”
